Maxx, I admire your positivity, but if McD's are open couldn't you be serving take aways?!))

Your attitude has become v.formal soviet )

Don't forget Moby I am a Britt by heritage.

Yes I could. The problem is I can't finish the kitchen because the hardware stores are closed. Apparently my guy Grant is having a difficult time getting store owners to sell things out the back door. Also my hot and cold units lacked completion. Misha was in such a rush to get paid upon delivery he left some parts behind. Also he didn't make an access door for the sink unit. So I told Grant to get a electrical saw and make one on the front wooden panel (painted black). But on second thought giving Georgia a 'Chipotle experience' is not possible under present circumstances.

My plan is to press forward as much as I can. Hoping for the tourist season Georgia so desperately needs.

My sense on the street is people here want things to get back to normal. ANYONE who can work does so. The streets are getting repaired finally. Construction workers are working. The streets are being swept by people using those funny brooms. There were more cars in Metro-City parking lot today. Life will go on.

Number of Coronavirus Cases Rises to 90The number of coronavirus cases has increased in Georgia. The country now has 90 people in hospitals who have tested positive for COVID-19. The information was published on the government-run website stopcov.ge.

The website also reports on other coronavirus data in the country, like the number of patients who have recovered, of people in quarantine and under medical supervision. Currently, there are 4534 individuals quarantined, 276 stay in in-patient care, while 16 patients have recovered from Covid-19.

I think these figures ( other than any reported fatalities ) are meaningless - unless everyone who has the virus is being tested... which I doubt ... (

My little rural county in the UK is reporting 100 plus from just over 500k ... I think the number could be 5- 10 times that and we STILL don't know how many people can be asymptomatic and be carriers ... 'Reports' from China reckoned up to 30% ..

THAT is why govts want people to socially distance or isolate ..

Georgia has tried this earlier in the curve .. it will be interesting to see how it pans out. It is a v.family orientated country and if one family member gets it ....

Stay safe, stay away from other folks - 2m away ..for at least two weeks more

I am drinking a bottle of Saperavi red wine and eating some caviar. In an hour and 20 minutes the nationwide curfew begins. From 9 PM to 6 AM if you are caught on the street you face a 3000 (almost $1000) GEL fine.

I seen Ilona today and took her to Carrefour to stock up on some food. Her Belarusian ex-husband took her children away a few days ago. She wants to see me tomorrow and hang out and watch movies together. We both need the company. We've finally figured out our relationship. I haven't seen my two daughters and granddaughter in 3 1/2 years. So that is what ii become, a father or grandfather to her. I need someone to look after and she does the same for me.

I am going to download some movies we can watch together

Grumpy Old Men (like me)Grumpier Old Men both films take place in Minnesota where I came fromHeartbreak Kid (1972) also part of it takes place in Minnesota The Producers (1968)The Graduate (1968) a must see classic film.

I am drinking a bottle of Saperavi red wine and eating some caviar. In an hour and 20 minutes the nationwide curfew begins. From 9 PM to 6 AM if you are caught on the street you face a 3000 (almost $1000) GEL fine.

I seen Ilona today and took her to Carrefour to stock up on some food. Her Belarusian ex-husband took her children away a few days ago. She wants to see me tomorrow and hang out and watch movies together. We both need the company. We've finally figured out our relationship. I haven't seen my two daughters and granddaughter in 3 1/2 years. So that is what ii become, a father or grandfather to her. I need someone to look after and she does the same for me.

Yes but also a woman I can live my life out with. I met recently a Georgian woman in her 40s I rather like. When this madness is over I will ask her father if he will allow me to court her. Her name is Xhatuna (Khatuna). No children, never married and from what I can tell as sweet as can be.

Number of Coronavirus Cases Climbs to 100The total number of persons infected with coronavirus has increased to 100 in Georgia. The information has been posted on the special website created by the government, stopcov.ge.4978 persons are in quarantine and 264 remain under examination in hospitals. 18 have recovered.

Prime Minister of Georgia on Declaring Universal QuarantineThe government made the decision to significantly tighten measures within the framework of the state of emergency, which will take effect at 8:00 in the morning tomorrow, stated Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia at a briefing held after the conclusion of a session of the Interagency Coordination Council on the coronavirus.

Today's session took place in an extended format and was attended by the mayor of the capital, members of the Cabinet of Ministers, and senior officials from the Center for Disease Control, in addition to members of the council.

"We have decided to significantly tighten measures within the framework of the state of emergency. Effectively - and I would like to emphasize this - effectively, we are declaring universal quarantine, which will begin tomorrow, at 8:00 in the morning. This quarantine means the following:

• It is completely forbidden to travel using any type of public transport (including the subway), both within and between cities and municipalities.

• It is only permissible to travel using light vehicles (including taxis), and only if the recommendation of the Ministry of Healthcare has been taken into consideration, i.e., if there are no more than three persons in an automobile, with the essential condition that the two persons are seated in the rear seat. This is a very important recommendation and relevant state bodies will make the appropriate decisions in case of noncompliance.

• Also, it is only permissible to carry passengers for the purpose of transporting employees of facilities of strategic importance in an organized and safe manner.

• Gathering of more than three persons is forbidden, with the exception of grocery stores and pharmacies, where maintaining a social distance of two meters is mandatory.• Furthermore, rules governing the operation of enterprises that are permitted by the government will be set out separately; they will have separate protocols that will be agreed with the Ministry of Healthcare. We are doing this so that the economy can continue to function and to ensure that the potential that the Georgian economy possesses is not brought to a standstill, as well as, of course, to ensure that our citizens can retain their jobs as far as possible.

• Our citizens above 70 years of age will be forbidden from leaving their homes unless they are going to their nearest grocery store, their nearest pharmacy, or their nearest medical facility.

• If our citizens above 70 years of age live alone, the Ministry of Healthcare and the Ministry of Economy, as well as local municipalities, are obligated to provide them with assistance.

• Most importantly: Effectively, a full quarantine will be declared for the duration of the state of emergency. It will be forbidden to move on foot or using any other mode of transportation in the cities and throughout the entire country between the hours of 21:00 and 06:00. Effectively - and I would like to emphasize this once again - effectively, this means that a so-called curfew is being declared throughout the entire country between the hours of 21:00 and 06:00.

• Checkpoints will be set up in the cities of Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Rustavi, Poti, Zugdidi, and Gori in order to control the movement of individuals, to check their health status, and to ensure the fulfillment of the tightened measures under the state of emergency, as well as to provide initial thermal screening and to control the administrative borders of these cities. These measures will be carried out by the forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the involvement of the relevant agencies of the Ministry of Defense.

• A very important point: Every citizen must carry their identity documents while moving within the city at any time," the Prime Minister of Georgia stated.

What the Rep og Georgia has done is early in the curve and they ar trying to flatten it before the Orhodox Easter....as the govt feels a lot of people MAY the need disobey on religious grounds and head off to form crowds in a Church...

Rumours are going around that Sakashvilli is 'back in town'....

Now whilst I, personally, hold him in higher regard than (say) Boethius.... I hope if these rumours are true, that he doesn't stir up dissent....

Not the moment to be encouraging gatherings / protests / civil disobedience ....

"While Denmark and Norway closed their borders, restaurants and ski slopes and told all students to stay home this month, Sweden shut only its high schools and colleges, kept its preschools, grade schools, pubs, restaurants and borders open — and put no limits on the slopes.In fact, Sweden has stayed open for business while other nations beyond Scandinavia have attacked the outbreak with various measures ambitious in scope and reach. Sweden’s approach has raised questions about whether it’s gambling with a pandemic, COVID-19, that has no cure or vaccine, or if its tactic will be seen as a savvy strategy to fight a scourge that has laid waste to millions of jobs and prompted global lockdowns unprecedented in peacetime.Norway with a population 5.6 million, reported 2,200 cases and 52 deaths; Sweden, with 10.12 million people, recorded more than 3,060 cases and 105 deaths.A recent headline in the Danish newspaper Politiken encapsulates the question ricocheting around Europe, “Doesn’t Sweden take the corona crisis seriously?”There is no evidence that Swedes are underplaying the enormity of the disease rampaging across the globe. The country’s leader and health officials have stressed hand washing, social distancing and protecting people older than 70 by limiting contact with them."

The article was written a few days ago when their death rate averaged around 15 per day. Yesterday it almost tripled to 42.

Stay home, stay safe.

Thanks for the info BC. I am trying to figure this out. I use what I see and hear in Georgia to try and figure the future. I talked with a Georgian friend and he feels the calmness here will be at month at most.

Alcohol Sales Restricted in GeorgiaThe economic activity of most non-essential businesses shall be restricted as part of the state of emergency regime in Georgia amid the ever-increasing number of COVID-19 cases.Pursuant to the new government decree, alcoholic beverage stores have also been closed.The emergency order includes a list of critical businesses that can continue to operate provided that they adhere to the social distancing rules as much as possible. As specified in Article 7 of the document signed by the Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, any economic activity shall be suspended for the duration of the state of emergency, except:Medical facilities;Retail sale of food, animal and plant products, animal food, veterinary products, pesticides and agrochemicals, seed and planting materials;Mills, bakery products, dairy-processing enterprises;Supply of electricity, natural gas, water production / transmission / distribution / supply, gasoline, diesel, liquefied gas, as well as telecommunications, postal and waste management services;Commercial banks;Payment service providers;ATMs, self-service kiosks and post terminals;Microfinance organizations;Production / distribution / sale of medical goods, pharmaceuticals;Agricultural activities and activities related to livestock / poultry;Taxi service (category M1);Private security service;Advocacy service;Press booths.Activities of restaurants and public catering establishments are only allowed through food delivery and take-out services, without user access to the retail space.By Elene Dzebisashvili

Georgia Reports the First Coronavirus Death, Number of Cases Rises to 157The first case of death due to the new coronavirus has been reported in Georgia. "The deceased was a 79-year-old patient from the Marneuli-Bolnisi cluster," Levan Ratiani, the Director of the First University Clinic, told reporters on Saturday.He added that the patient had serious concomitant diseases along with COVID-19."Earlier this morning, a fatal case of coronavirus infection was confirmed. The victim is a 79-year-old woman, whose main diagnosis was COVID-19 and acute pneumonia. The complications included respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, septic shock, spontaneous pneumothorax, acute respiratory failure, acute failure of the cardiovascular system, acute heart failure. The concomitant diseases of this patient were quite severe,” said Amiran Gamkrelidze, Head of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health.The number of cases of coronavirus infection has increased to 157 in Georgia. The information has been posted on the government-run website stopcov.ge.5526 people are in quarantine and 344 under examination in hospitals.28 out of 157 people have recovered and one has died. By Ana Dumbadze